Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* In Virginia, the Democratic candidate in the tied House of Delegates race, Shelly Simonds, conceded the contest yesterday to Republican David Yancey.
* Donald Trump this morning touted a new Quinnipiac poll that found two-thirds of Americans believe the U.S. economy is “good” or “excellent.” What he didn’t mention was that the same poll found that a plurality of Americans credit Barack Obama for the state of the economy and a majority don’t believe Trump’s policies are helping.
* On a related note, Quinnipiac found the president with a 36% approval rating. Asked to grade Trump’s first year, most of the public gave him a “D” or an “F.”
* In Ohio’s gubernatorial race, former state Attorney General Richard Corday (D), who recently led the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, introduced former Rep. Betty Sutton (D) as his running mate yesterday. Up until this week, Sutton was Cordray’s rival for the Democratic nomination.
* On a related note, Rep. Jim Renacci (R-Ohio), who has been running for governor, is reportedly prepared to end that campaign and launch a U.S. Senate candidacy in his home state.
* As Republicans feel increased anxiety about the special election in Pennsylvania’s 18th district, Vice President Mike Pence is planning to campaign in the district later this month in support of Republican Rick Saccone. The election is scheduled for March 13. * As if California Republicans didn’t already have enough to worry about, the L.A. Times reports that a federal grand jury “is slated to hear evidence this month regarding certain transactions in Rep. Duncan Hunter’s campaign treasury, which has been under scrutiny since the spring of 2016 as a result of frequent personal expenditures.” * In a press conference alongside the Norwegian prime minister yesterday, Trump complained about Hillary Clinton three times, including referring to her as his “opponent.” In case anyone’s forgotten, the 2016 presidential campaign was 14 months ago. * And speaking of Republicans with weird hang-ups, former sheriff Joe Arpaio (R), now a U.S. Senate candidate in Arizona, told CNN last night that he has “no doubt” that Barack Obama’s birth certificate is fake. “We have the evidence,” he said. “I’m not going to go into all the details. It’s a phony document.”
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past." Recommended
